Urban African Canadians: A Qualitative Study of Serious Legal Problems in Quebec

The Participants

The questions posed to the respondents were designed to, first, break the ice and gather basic personal information (see Appendix). Each person was then asked to provide a detailed description of the significant legal problem(s) that they experienced in Quebec (mostly in Montreal). The respondents’ legal problems are summarized in this report by making every effort to present a summary without passing judgment on their truths. On the contrary, their responses are assumed to be valid and are acknowledged on their own terms. As stated above, each participant was given a pseudonym. The following is a short description of each respondent:

Oliver is in his early twenties and was born and raised in Montreal. His biological parents are West African and “European,” but he was raised by Caribbean foster parents. Oliver has confronted several legal issues throughout his life, but most recently he has experienced problems with the criminal justice system and with housing issues. Charged with assault, Oliver was represented by a legal aid lawyer who spoke very little English.

Frantz was born in Quebec and grew up in Montreal. He has been dealing with problems related to custody and access to his youngest child. Although he was initially permitted supervised visits, when his case was eventually tried in family court permanent custody was awarded to a white foster family.

Paul was born in Montreal. He was recently released from a federal penitentiary in Quebec. Paul’s serious problems arise from his lack of access to various programs in English while in prison (he does not speak French).

Fred is Anglophone and was born in the Caribbean. He is currently incarcerated in a federal penitentiary in Quebec and his experiences all relate to his time in the corrections system. His problems included lack of access to psychological support in English, the French-English divide in general, and violence perpetrated against him by the guards.

Harriot is an Anglophone woman in her early sixties who was born in Montreal to parents from the Caribbean. She is a retired health professional. Her legal issues stem from the unresolved murder of her nephew and being profiled by the police while driving.

Thomas is originally from West Africa, and is in his early thirties. He has been living in Montreal since 2017. His experience with the legal system is related to seeking asylum as a refugee claimant.

Angela was born in Haiti and is in her early forties. She arrived in Canada as a child and she has been living in the same Montreal neighbourhood for the past decade, and in the same apartment for the past five years. She is on welfare, with a yearly income of less than $15,000. She recently experienced housing issues when the landlord began renovating all of the apartments in her building. He recently asked her to vacate the apartment because he wanted to rent it to a family member.

Fredrick is in his early thirties and is originally from West Africa. He lived in Canada on a student visa while studying in a Quebec university where he and his fellow students experienced racial discrimination from a professor.

Kathleen is a Haitian woman in her mid-thirties who immigrated to Canada more than 10 years ago. She worked for a government institution that supports children who have been removed from their family homes. Kathleen witnessed a situation in which a colleague, also a Black female, was verbally assaulted and threatened by one of the visitors in the yard where some of the children were playing. Both employees reported the incident to their direct supervisors and shortly after the incident, Kathleen’s employer terminated her probation and dismissed her.

Toussaint is a Canadian of African origin in his late twenties who lives in Quebec City. He worked for a company in Quebec where he and other Black co-workers witnessed and experienced several racial incidents that, ultimately, when he was not supported, led him to resign. At the time of the interview, he had been unemployed for several months.

Jean-Baptiste is a Canadian-born male of Haitian descent in his early thirties. He experienced serious problems with the criminal justice system recently, particularly during his arrest for mischief. He believes the police used excessive force during the arrest and that he was treated poorly while in detention.

Salif is originally from West Africa. He is in his early thirties and has been living in Montreal for about eight years. His serious problems include access to health care, police violence, and immigration problems. A number of years ago, he was involved in a work-related accident that resulted in a broken ankle and several broken toes. Lack of appropriate treatment resulted in the amputation of a toe, which in turn has affected his mobility. This has also affected his ability to find work. He lived on disability insurance for three years and now works on and off in construction. Salif tried to pursue a negligence case against the hospital without success, even with legal representation. More recently, he was detained by police based on a misunderstanding related to an immigration issue.

Nina is a woman in her mid-sixties who is originally from the Caribbean. She has been living in Montreal since the mid-eighties and is a Canadian citizen. Several years ago, she was injured at work, which resulted in a permanent back injury. The medical advice she was given was that she should not perform strenuous tasks upon her return to work. At a meeting held in French (she does not speak French), without union representation, she believes she was misled into accepting a different job at a significantly reduced salary.

Donald is a 60-year-old Canadian citizen who was born in the Caribbean. He has been living in Montreal for more than 40 years. Like Nina, his serious problem involved his place of employment, where he worked as a caretaker for more than three decades. He says he was harassed by his employer for praying and discussing his religious beliefs on the job (he is a Christian).